Category: Politics and Governance

 

Abuja:  Sen. Dino Melaye, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Candidate for the Kogi governorship election, says his party will replicate the victory of Natasha Akpoti-Uduagan in the Nov. 11 election.

Melaye made the remark at the Appeal Court, Abuja, in an interview with newsmen shortly after the court affirmed the election victory of Akpoti-Uduagan of PDP as the winner of the Kogi Central Senatorial election held in Feb. 25.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the three-member panel, in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Hamma Barka, upheld the judgment of the state’s election tribunal and dismissed the appeal filed by Sen. Abubakar Ohere of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The court agreed with the submission of counsel for Akpoti-Uduagan, Mr Joshua Usman, SAN, for being meritorious.

Reacting to the judgment, Melaye said the PDP would also win the forthcoming election in Kogi.

“What Nigerians should expect from the Kogi State election on the 11th of November is what the Court of Appeal has just done.
“It has shown that PDP is the dominant party in Kogi State and by the grace of God, the PDP will win that election.

“We will protect our election, we will protect our electorate and we call on Kogites not to be afraid because at the end of the day, every lie has an expiry date, just like the lies of APC in Kogi have expired today,” he said.

The PDP candidate described the election victory at Appeal Court as “victory for democracy.”

“First, I congratulate Barrister Akpoti-Uduagan, by the grace of God, Senator-elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“I also congratulate all justice seeking loving people of Kogi State.

“This is victory for democracy; this is victory for the people of Kogi Central and this is victory for the people of Kogi State;

“This is righting the wrongs in our society. And I want to assure you that the PDP is very happy with the judgment.

“The judgment of the trial court has been upheld by the Court of Appeal and this shows clearly that 2023 elections were manipulated, the figures were concocted and we are happy that this has been rewritten by the court and this has given total victory to PDP in the central .
“And we are also looking forward to getting same at the easter flank of the state. Kogi is PDP and PDP is Kogi and this judgment has proven so.

“We also salute the tenacity, the brevity of Barrister Natasha Akpoti-Uduagan. We salute her sagacity and we pray and hope that she will have a very successful tenure in the Senate.

“And I can assure you that she is going to make a very wonderful senator of the Federal Republic,” he concluded.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)/ Flowerbudnews

 

The Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Tuesday, declared Natasha Akpoti-Uduagan of the Peoples Democratic Party as the duly elected candidate for the Kogi Central Senatorial Election held in February 2023.

 

The court further dismissed the appeal filed by Abubakar Ohere of the All Progressives Congress for lacking in merit.

 

The state’s Election Petitions Tribunal, in September, had declared Akpoti-Uduagan winner of the Kogi Central Senatorial election, PUNCH Online reports. It also invalidated the victory of Ohere.

 

The Tribunal Chairman, Justice K. A. Orjiako, delivered the unanimous judgment of the three-man panel, revealing that Ohere’s results were inflated in nine polling units in the Ajaokuta Local Government Area.

He added that the Independent National Electoral Commission reduced Natasha’s results in those areas and omitted the results of three other polling units meant for Natasha in the same LGA.

 

The Tribunal judgment led Ohere to seek redress. However, the Appeal Court further maintained that Akpoti-Uduagan won the election.

 

Reacting to the appeal court verdict, Akpoti-Uduagan, posted “We won the Appeal. Joy amidst tears. Thank you Kogi Central. This is us together 🙏🏽”

on her official Facebook page

Former President Muhammadu Buhari has described the victory of Bola Tinubu at the Supreme Court as a welcome relief for not just him but the majority of Nigerians.

 

Recall that the Supreme Court, on Thursday, affirmed President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as the valid winner of the presidential election that held in the country on February 25.

Buhari made reaction in a statement posted by his media aide, Garba Shehu on X (formerly called Twitter) on Thursday.

It reads: “Former President Muhammadu Buhari says the decision to dismiss the appeals by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), by the Supreme Court, is a welcome relief to him and to a majority of the citizens of Nigeria.

 

“The former President repeated what he said on the earlier 6 September verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Court, which affirmed President @officialABAT‘s victory, that the welcome decision is “a reaffirmation of the will of the majority of the people against the determined will of a hard-fighting minority.”

 

“Now that we have arrived at the last bus-stop, after a tortuous 8-months of expensive legal journey, the nation deserves a break. The opposition has fought a good fight. Having now exhausted their rights as constitutionally allowed, they should take the hand of fellowship extended by the Tinubu/Shettima

 

@OfficialAPCNg government. Let them allow the Government to run their administration and the people to enjoy the full benefits of the promises the All Progressives Congress (APC) made.

 

The former President expressed concern over low voting percentages all over the country, especially in urban areas, and said this should change, given the acceptance and vibrancy of democracy in Nigeria.

 

“He wishes the President and his team a successful term in office.”

The Supreme Court, on Thursday, affirmed President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as the valid winner of the presidential election that held in the country on February 25.

The apex court, in its lead judgement that was prepared and read by Justice Inyang Okoro, held that there was no merit in the petition that a former President and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, filed to nullify the outcome of the election.

It held that Atiku did not prove that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, did not substantially comply with provisions of the Electoral Act, in the conduct of the election.

 

The apex court held that section 185(1) of the Evidence Act provided that an election should not be liable to be invalidated, when alleged non compliance did not substantially affect the outcome of an election.

 

It held that evidence contained in the record of the appeal showed that the Appellants abandoned the duty imposed on them by the law to not only prove the alleged non compliance, but to establish that failure of INEC to transmit results of the election through its IReV portal, influenced the outcome of the presidential poll.

 

The Supreme Court said it had in past judgements, made it clear that there was a difference between election result collation system and the IReV portal.

 

“Where the IReV portal fails, it does not stop the collation which up till the last election was manually done,” the court held.

 

Nevertheless, it stressed that INEC’s failure to electronically transmit results of the election, denied the electorates the opportunity to follow and cross-check results that were eventually uploaded.

 

“Truth must be told, the non transmission of results to the IReV portal may also reduce the confidence of the voting population in the electoral process,” the Supreme Court warned.

It held that the unavailability of results on INEC’s IReV portal “for whatever reason, could not be the reason for an election to be nullified.

The apex court held that Atiku and PDP did not prove that they suffered any miscarriage of justice as a result of the dismissal of their petition by the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC.

 

It described as misconceived and misplaced, Atiku’s contention that Tinubu ought not have been declared winner of the presidential election, having failed to secure 25% votes in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja.

 

The apex court affirmed the position of the PEPC that the FCT does not have a status that is more special than that of the 36 States of the federation.

 

It further upheld the striking out the evidence of some of the witnesses that testified for Atiku at the PEPC hearing, adding that most of the witnesses gave “inadmissible hearsay” evidence.

The Appellants did not present any evidence to warrant the interference of the findings of the lower court,” head of the apex court panel, Justice Okoro, added.

 

On the issue that President Tinubu was involved in a drug related case in the USA that led to the forfeiture of $460, 000, the Supreme Court held that Tinubu raised the issue when the Respondents had already filed their process.

 

It held that the action denied the Respondents the right to fair hearing.

 

“The ruling of the lower court is unassailable and this court will not interfere,” it held.

 

The court held that whereas Atiku alleged that the result that was declared by INEC was not accurate, he, however, failed to put forward their perceived rightful result.

It held that the result announced by INEC was presumed as correct in the absence of “any rival or alternative result.”

 

“The figure before us shows that the 2nd Respondent won the highest number of votes and was duly declared winner.”

 

Consequently, the court, resolved all the issues that Atiku raised in his petition, against him.

 

“On the whole, having resolved all the issues against the Appellants, it is my view that there is no merit in this appeal and it is hereby dismissed.

 

“Judgement of the lower court delivered on September 6 is hereby affirmed. I shall make no order as to cost,” the Supreme Court held.

It will be recalled that INEC had on March 1, announced that Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, won the presidential contest, ahead of 17 other candidates that participated in the poll.

 

It declared that he garnered a total of 8,794,726 votes to defeat his two major rivals, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who came second with a total of 6,984,520 votes, and Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party, who came third with a total of 6,101,533 votes

 

 

 

President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu meet Atiku Abubakar’s lead counsel, Chris Uche (SAN).

 

The men were seen greeting each other as they awaited the apex court to deliver judgment on the election of Tinubu as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission in the February 25 election.

Tinubu’s election was challenged by the presidential candidates of the Labour Party and the Peoples Democratic Party, Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, respectively

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi are absent from the supreme court in Abuja.

 

The court is expected to deliver judgment today (Thursday) on their appeals against the tribunal’s judgment affirming President Bola Tinubu’s victory at the February 25, 2023, presidential election.

 

Present in the court are the Chief of Staff to the president, Femi Gbajabiamila; FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike; APC national chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje; National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure.

The PUNCH reports that the decision of the apex court is final on the matter.

 

The justices have just arrived

The Supreme Court has fixed Thursday for the judgment on the appeals by the presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, and the Labour Party, Peter Obi, respectively.

 

The duo is praying the apex court to set aside the judgment by the presidential election tribunal which affirmed the election of President Bola Tinubu.

The Supreme Court’s Director of Information, Dr. Festus Akande, in a telephone call on Wednesday told our correspondent that the judgment on the appeals had been scheduled for tomorrow.

 

He said, “Tomorrow, Thursday, has been fixed for the judgment on the appeals brought by Atiku and Peter Obi.”

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released amended lists of candidates for Bayelsa and Imo governorship elections.

 

According to the amended list uploaded on the commission’s website on Tuesday, the names of Timipre Sylva and his ruining mate, Joshua Maciver of the All Progressives Congress (APC) were not included for the Bayelsa election.

The list was signed by the Secretary to the Commission, Rose Oriaran-Anthony.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports (NAN) reports that the column for the names of APC candidate and his ruining mate was left blank with “court order” remarks on it.

 

Also for Imo, the commission included the names of Uchechukwu Ishiodu as the governorship candidate and Ahumbe Chiazor as the running mate, for Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) for the state election.

 

Oriaran-Anthony, in the amended document, explained that the action of the commission was in obedience to court orders on the lists, served on the commission.

 

She recalled that the commission published the final list of candidates for the 2023 Bayelsa State Governorship Election on June 9 in accordance with the provision of Section 32 of the Electoral Act, 2022 and the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the Election.

 

She said that after the publication, the commission was served with an order of court in respect of the nomination of candidate of the APC for Bayelsa governorship election.

 

“By virtue of the provision of Section 287 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Commission is bound to enforce the orders of the court on the nomination of candidates by political parties in the state.

 

“The Amended list of candidates in respect of the 2023 Bayelsa State governorship election is hereby amended pursuant to the orders of court served on the commission,” Oriaran-Anthony said

 

Also for Imo, Oriaran-Anthony also recalled that INEC published the final list of candidates for the state governorship election June 9 in accordance with the provision of Section 32 of the Electoral Act, 2022 and the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the Election.

After the said publication, the Commission was served with an Order of Court for the inclusion of the PRP and its candidate on the list of candidates for the 2023 Imo State governorship election.

 

“By virtue of the provision of Section 287 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the commission is bound to enforce the orders of the court on the nomination of candidates by political parties in the State

The Amended list of candidates in respect of the 2023 Imo State Governorship election is hereby amended pursuant to the Orders of the Court served on the Commission,” Oriaran-Anthony said.

 

The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Oct. 10, disqualified Sylva from participating in the state governorship election.

 

 

Justice Donatus Okorowo, in the judgment, ruled that Sylva having been sworn in twice and ruled for five years as governor of Bayelsa would breach the 1999 constitution as amended if allowed to contest again.

 

The judge also declared that Sylva was not qualified to run in the November poll because if he won and was sworn in, he would spend more than eight years in office as governor of the state.

 

Also the Federal High Court, Owerri judicial division in Suit No. FHC/OW/CS/35/2023 – PRP & Anor v. INEC, amongst others, equally ordered INEC to include the name of the PRP governorship candidate in the list of nominated candidates already published on the INEC website

 

 

Popular Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh, has joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

 

The development was announced by the APC in a post on its X account on Monday.

Dikeh was the Rivers State deputy governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), in the 2023 general election.

The actress was unveiled at the APC National Secretariat, Abuja on Monday by the party’s national women leader, Dr Mary Alile and deputy national publicity secretary, Hon. Duro Meseko.

 

“Tonto Dikeh who was the Rivers State 2023 deputy governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress, was unveiled by the national women leader, Dr Mary Alile and Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Hon Duro Meseko at the Party’s HQ,” the post read.